Weighing and filling machine



J L. FERGUSON ET AL WEIGHING AND FILLING MACHINE Aug. 26, 1952 ll Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1943 Aug. 26, 1952 J. FERGUSON ET AL WEIGHING AND FILLINGMACHINE 11 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12, 1943 Jh w Aug. 26, 1952 4. L. FERGUSON ET AL 2,608,372

WEIGHING AND FILLING MACHINE Filed April 12, 1945 ll Sheets-Sheet 5 A 25, 1952 J. L. FERGUSON ET AL 2,608,372

WEIGHING AND FILLING MACHINE Filed April 12, 1943 ll Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 26, 1952 J. L. FERGUSON ET AL WEIGHING AND FILLING MACHINE ll Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 12, 1943 Hut.- g z; 3 w a 8 1/ d 7 M {15, s

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WEIGHING AND FILLING MACHINE Filed April 12, 1943 ll Sheets-Sheet 8 95/ 4IZ. W l wm @aW afiza wvwa W.

Aug. 26, 1952 J. L. FERGUSON ET AL WEIGHING AND FILLING MACHINE Filed April 12, 1943 ll Sheets-Sheejc 9 Jy faa I Filed April 12, 1943 Aug. 26, 1952 Aug. 26, 1952 J. FERGUSON ET AL 7 2,603,372

WEIGHING AND FILLING MACHINE Filed April 12, 1943 ll Sheets-Sheet ll flaw) Q 17/441 Patented Aug. 26, 1952 UNITED STATES PAT NT Q F CE FILLING MACHINE John L, Ferguson and Richard C. Talbot, Joliet, 111;, assignors to J. L. Ferguson Company, .Ioliet, 111., a' coi-poraticno'i Illinois Application April 12, 1943, Serial No. 482,734 41 Claims. (01. Zia-22 This invention relates particularly to machines for weighing and filling ultimate containers, car-r tons or packages with non-:free flowing fragile flake material, such as cereals, soap (flakes, granules, powder), etc, ground or pulyerized products, such as cornmeal, cornstarch, grits, barley or the like, and any comminuted or particulated material where accuracy in -,w,eighing is important.

With such materials or products, it is impor: tant that the flow of the material be maintained uniform so that the weighing may be accurate and uniform, and-in the'case .of so-called mu tlr ple filling, that the several parts or streams may be substantially equal and uniform for the same purpose.

With fragile flake material, it is likewise im; portant that the means for force feeding be not such as to mutilate the-flakes.

Accordingly this invention contemplates means for force-feeding such materials uniformly without mutilation of delicate products, and further, if desired, of separating the same into-a plurality of substantially equal and uniform parts .or streams for the multiple filling and weighing .of containers or the like.

In carry-ingout this portion of the invention, a power-driven rotary disc, sometimes .called a feeder disc, is interposed inithe-fiow line of .the material from thesupply hopper. The material is fed to the upper flat, smoothand polished face of the feeder disc and centrally thereof. Under the influence of the rotation and centrifugal force, the material spreads out evenly .and umformly over the face of the -disc-in .a gradually thinning layer as it travels to the .outer ledge where it passes or is thrown off by centrifugal force in a uniformstream into oneormorereceiving openings.

This invention also contemplates that the lower end gates of the control chambers which are above the w-eighing'buckets or receptacles shall be closely adjacent the buckets in filling position, so that when the buckets descend under the weight of the material, the gate is closed and only a small amount of unweighed, :butaccurately measured, material goes into-the bucket after the closing of the gate.

It is also desirable, convenient and space-saving, in a machineof this type, to weigh, fill -and packaplurality of containers in a single row. This is conveniently donein this machinacight containers preferably being handled at a time, which are positioned by acqnve orinarowgver theibed of the machineand under the hoppersor 2. spouts or chutes f-romthe weighing receptacles or buckets. I'Ihe" horizontal centrifugal feeder disc above in thisparticular machine is coin.- paratively large, and the weighing control chamr bers which receive the the edge or the disc and the weighing receptacles directly beneath, which in turn receive thelmaterial from the control chambers, extend down and around in a circle from the edge of the circular feed; g disc. From beneath these weighing buckets .or re.- cep a lesl w iqh in th nam 'a 'T tioned in a horizontal circle, -inclinddischai e hoppers or spouts lead down to a positidfi in a straight i e Ju at??? the l es o c fi or cartons waiting to be fi ed. This conve'rts the circular arra ment of the hoppers or spouts at he m .7 .e int al aa i t e a ment at their lower ends, and leaves ac'or're spending space between their permits? U It is desirable in handling some products to k th m in th q if t i e sp ia ii 5fi11- ing operation. Ehis is usually done by a'plunger t rin th contai er at r q' bo t i arid pressing down upon the same. "Iih'ismethodiis commonly referred to as plunger packing. In the present machine, advantage is taken" of the s ac r f r e t between the iiirr i s. .ned'a i of h d scha hoppe sari the yei'a i ti kas in th pa k n .nlunse ma a Ihe inclined hoppers orspouts terminate attheir lower ends in vertical tubular por ons just the n n s. The p unsers pas .th sh these ica porti n o to th mate a in 1 @9 tainers suitably to pack the same therein. Ihe vertically reciprocating crosshead for these plungers and the plunger rods are located inlth'e space between the upperends' of [the outwardly inclined discharge spouts or hoppers and the weighing receptacles. The hop ersand weighing buckets are dividediinto two groups of four each, one group on each side of thecrossh e a'd, plungerrodsandplungers.

It is also important in connection with such machines that the containers" be not lnarred or mutilated 'by the belt conveyors employed to transport empty containerstothe filling station and filled containers 'fromlthefillingstation; .It is also important that theseloperations .becarried out with the greatestspeed and eff ciency. In the ordinary machine, the containers are t pp d at th p i of :fillins Whil th 1 veyor belt continues to operate. iglfhis results in marring the bot tolmlof thecontain s or Itilating the sides, and cause'sithnfto ltip "tact;-

3 ward when released. It is sometimes arranged to elevate the containers slightly above the moving belt for filling. This also creates a tendency for the filled containers to tip backward after they have been filled and dropped back onto the conveyor, and limits production.

Another method is to stop the conveyor belt during the filling operation and then to start it again at a fixed speed by means of a dog clutch. This also creates a tendency for the filled cartons to tip backwards and consequently so to limit the speed of production that it is impractical.

It is, therefore, an object of this, invention to eliminate the disadvantages set forth and to provide an intermittent and variable speed conveyor belt on which the containers may rest during packing and which gradually starts and stops in its travel. In this case the belt comes to a stop by gradually slackening the belt tension until it is loose on a continuously operated drive pulley. The belt again starts by gradually tightening it around the drive pulley. By this method, the containers are not marred or mutilated, they do not tip backward on account of the slow starting speed of the belt, and the containers may rest on the conveyor belt during the plunger packing operation, whereby a greater rate of production is insured.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the specification and claims.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention and in general are drawn to scale- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a perspective and'expanded view of the machinery in the base of the machine, of the two supporting posts of the framework and some of the parts carried at the top thereof;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lower half of the machine, from the side opposite to that of Fig. 4, showing the mechanism in the base, the conveyor frame and the lower ends of the packing plungers;

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of the bed of the machine, taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the machine taken through the supporting posts, on line l-J of Fig. 1, the parts above the posts and around their upper ends being omitted;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through the base of the machine taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 7, and showing the cam for operating the drop spouts, etc.;

Fig. 9 is a detail cross-sectional view through the pulley and shaft for driving the conveyor belt and associated parts;

Fig. 10 is a detailed cross section of the upper part of the machine, showing the mechanism at and around the upper ends of the two supporting posts of the framework of the machine;

Fig. 11 is a sectional plan view taken on a plane just at the top of the frame ring secured to the upper ends of the two side posts of the machine and indicated at l lll of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a detailed vertical section through one of the feeder housing supporting posts, taken on line l2l2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a detail side view of one of the control chambers and its operating gates;

Figs. 14 and 15, sheet 6, are views of the op posite sides or faces, respectively, of the cam disc '4 for operating the drop spouts and the conveyor belt tightener;

Figs. 16 and 17, sheet 6, are similar views of the opposite faces of the cam disc in the base of the machine for operating the control chamber and weighing bucket gates;

Figs. 18 and 19, sheet 9, are, respectively, detail views of a vertical'section and plan of the bucket weighing scale beam;

Fig. 20, sheet 8, is a detail view in elevation of the weighing bucket bottom gates and the operating arm therefor;

Fig. 21, sheet I I, is a detail perspective view of a portion of the split ring with its sliding mounting on a post of the machine and carrying the control gates and bucket bottom gates operating arms;

Fig. 22 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the means for raising and lowering the split ring;

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of the hopper spout for guiding the product from the weighing buckets to the containers, with the supporting collar for the spout and the drop spout shown separated from the vertical portion ofthe spout to which they are normally applied;

Fig. 24 is a detail. plan View of these hopper spout collars with their side supporting bars and angle braces from the posts of the framework of the machine.

The product to be weighed and filled in the containers or cartons is discharged from a suitable hopper or storage bin (not shown) through a conduit or pipe at the extreme top of the machine onto acontinuously rotating horizontal disc, which discharges the material by centrifugal force into some eight control chambers around the edge of. the disc. These control chambers are in reality chutes with gates at each end, leading downwardly from the edge of the disc to the weighing receptacles or buckets immediately beneath.

These buckets, of which there are eight in this machine, individually weigh the material for a container or carton, and when all buckets are filled and weighed they are automatically dumped or discharged into; hopper spouts leading down to the empty containers beneath, standing preferably in a straight-line group of eight, on a belt conveyor which has brought them into position to receive the material.

When the material is thus discharged into the containers and packed therein, the conveyor moves this group of filled containers out of the machine and brings in another group of eight empties. In the meantime the preliminary steps of the weighinghave been started over again.

The machine shown in the drawings has a supporting framework consisting of a rectangular bed table 50 with two hollow cylindrical posts 5| and 52 extending upwardly from midway of the two side members of the bed and a-horizontal ring casting 53-secured to the upper ends of the posts.

The machinery and other parts are all supported directly or indirectly by this framework, the electric driving motor, operating cams, gearing, etc., being located in the bed, the belt conveyor 54a for the containers being supported over the bed longitudinally thereof and extending between the posts, and the weighing and filling mechanism being at and around the top of the posts, as hereinafterdescribed.

The cast-iron ring 53 at the top of the posts 5| and 52 is generally of an inverted V in cross- "section, with suitable holes and walls thereof cast therein for the said posts, and other parts and members as seen in plan view in Fig. 11. It is fixed in position on the posts in any desired way, as, for instance, by set screws passing through the walls of the sockets for the posts and impinging the posts.

This ring 53 supports above it another large ring casting 54 which may be termed a feeder housing because it houses the centrifugal feeder disc and associated parts (see Fig. This feeder housing is supported on the upper ends of four cylindrical posts 55 (Figs. 10, 11 and 12) extending up from ring 53, said posts being 90 degrees apart in the rings and the two rings being spaced apart vertically by sleeves 56 on the posts. Set screws may serve to bind-the posts in their sockets in the rings. These four posts 55 extend down below the lower ring 53 for purposes hereinafter described.

The horizontal feeding disc 51 (Fig. 10) which receives the product centrally from the supply pipe 58 and delivers it at its periphery by centrifugal action into the control chambers 59 for the weighing buckets 6b, is mounted for rotation on the short vertical shaft 6 I. Roller bearings in the sleeve 62 support the shaft (ii for rotation and against vertical movement. The sleeve 62 with its four radiating arms 63 forms part of the feeder housing casting 54, the said arms 63 extending radially from the sockets for the posts 55 to the central sleeve 62. I

The feeder disc 51 is continuousiy rotated at the desired speed by a belt pulley 64 on the lower end of the shaft 6!, which in turn is driven by the pulley 65 on the upper end of shaft 66 which extends up through the supporting post 5| of the framework of the machine.

This shaft in the post is provided with a belt pulley 6'! at the lower end of the post beneath the bed frame (Figs. 4, 5, I and 9), which is directly connected by belt 68 with the drivin electric motor 69 in the base of the machine.

A product supply pipe 58 (Figs. 3 and 10) is supported by the sleeve ring 10 having the four radial arms l'l supported at their ends by posts .2 which are secured at their lower ends in'any desired way to the feeder housing casting 54, preferably to the side walls of the control chamhere 59, as shown. The supply pipe is adjustable vertically in any desired way in the supporting ring 10, as indicated by the thumb nut, to various distances above the feeder'disc, thereby to vary the flow of the product to the disc.

A flanged sheet-metal ring '53 adjustably supported for height from the arms ll prevents the product from building up too high at the control chamber inlet gates. Any attempt of the material to build up higher within the ring than the flange 13a, results in the stoppage of downflow of the material within the supply pipe 58, so that feeding is automatically stopped.

The feeder disc 51 is preferably of cast iron, is finished all over, especially on the upper surface, and is mounted so as to be substantially horizontal in the flat portion of its upper face. This face is flat from the base of the central upward conical or cone-like projection to the periphery. Any thickening of the web toward the center is on the lower face of the disc. The conical projection affords in this instance room for the shaft connection with the disc and at the same time causes the descending stream or product in the pipe 58 to be deflected outwardly for free, equal and uniform distribution in all directions on the the product to build up on the disc.

6 face of the disc and toward its edge. Thus there is no dead spot for the product t t e center of the disc and no chance for a dead weight of While the periphery of the disc makes close contact with the adjacent shoulder or ledge of the feeder housing casting 54, there is sufilcient clearance therefrom to. prevent any substantial frictional. drag between the disc and shoulder.

The outer and upper portions of the feeder housing ring casting 54 form the inlets and upper parts of the control chambers 59 into which the product is thrown by centrifugal force from the edge of the disc for the weighing buckets 88. This may be seen in Figs. 3, 1O, 12 and 13, where the walls of the upper ends of the outwardly sloping chambers or chutes 59 are shown in outline and in. section. There are eight of these, at equal distances apart, four on each side of the lohgi tudinal medial plane of the machine. Referrin to one of these in Fig. .3they are all alike-the outer wall outlining the upper end of the charm her is indicated at M and the side walls'at iii and 18. The latter, 76, in each case is not radial with reference to the casting ring but points at an angle to the periphery of the feeder disc, the edge of which it nearly touches and in a direc tion opposed to its movement. The other end wall it extends substantially radially of the circle to the outer face of the wall 16 of the adjacent chamber and is cast integrally therewith. The result is that the chambers in this machine have rectangular entrances opening toward the prodct coming on the disc and. with narrowing top and bottom walls. The inner wall 11 of the upper end of a control chamber is shown in section in Figs. 10 and 12.

The lower ends of the control chambers 59 are also iron castings making a tight joint at their upper ends with the lower ends of the upper portions of the chambers 59 and extending in the same slopes as the sides of said upper part. The lower ends of this lower portion of the chambers 59 bend clown vertically and the side walls above converge into a cylinder for this vertical portion, this cylinder being of a size convenient to empty the product into the weighing buckets beneath.

These bottom castings for the control chambers 59 are secured in position to the feeder housing ring 5 by one or more lugs 18, each extending integrally from the casting to the outside of the ring 54, where they are bolted thereto, as shown.

These control chambers 5Q between the centrifugal feeder disc 5! and the weighing buckets G3 are provided with inlet and outlet gates 19 and tit, respectively (Figs. l0, l2 and 13).

The inlet gate 19 is a substantially rectangular piece of sheet metal of a size to close the opening to the upper end of the control chamber at the edge of the feeder disc. It is curved longitudinally to correspond to the periphery of the disc, is of a length to span the space between the webs or walls it of the feeder housing which define the openings to the control chamber, and is of a height or width corresponding to the free ends of said web 76.

This gate is is rigidly mounted in any desired way, as by screws therethrough, at the end of an angle lever or arm 8| which is pivoted between lugs cast on the outside wall of the control chamber upper portion. The end of this arm engages the gate 19 nearer one end than the other due to the offset of the gate opening with reference to thecentral line of the control chamber. The

7. lever arm is bent to clear the upper edge of the outer chamber wall. Fig. 13 shows this gate and lever in open position in full lines and closed in dotted lines.

The lower edge of the gate 19 is sharpened to enable it to pass down through the product more easily.- It is prevented from actually striking the disc by the set screw stop in the adjacent wall.

The other arm of this gate lever BI is connected by link 82 with the outlet gate below by which the lever 8i and gate 19 are duly operated.

The lower or cut-off gate 80 for each control chamber 59 is of thin sheet metal of a size to completely cover the opening in the lower end of the chamber and curved to conform to a cylindrical surface with an axis at 83, the pivot points of the side members carrying between them the gate member 80. 7 These pivot points are studs cast on the opposite sides of the lower member of the control chamber. As this stirrup-like gate swings back and forth, it opens and closes the lower end of the control chamber.

These two side members of gate 80 are of nearly the same form between the pivots 83 and the curved blade, but are formed differently beyond the pivots. Thus the member shown in full lines in Fig. 12 on the near side of the control chamber 59 has an arm 84 extending substantially at right angles to the main arm; while the other side member of the gate, shown in dotted lines in Fig. l2rand therefore on the far side of the control chamber member, has an arm 85 on the upper side of the pivot extending at an oblique angle to the main arm.

It is the latter arm 85 which is connected by link rod 22 with the short arm of the upper gate lever 8i. Accordingly these two gates operate together in the particular connections shown, as will be described later, both being opened simultaneously and closed simultaneously though it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that their opening and closing may be timed otherwise.

The pivot arm of the lower gate 80, shown in dotted lines, has a projection on the upper edge in which is fixed a laterally projecting stud 85. This stud thus projects into the path of the vertical movement of the arm 8! extending horizontally from a vertical post or rod 88, and the gate 86 is thereby opened. This opens also the upper gate 79. The post 88 forms a part of the bucket control, and in turn is fixed to the horizontal semi-circular ring 89 (Figs. 21, 10, ll, 12 and 13), said ring also forming a part of the bucket control and is sometimes referred to as the bucketoperating ring.

This half-ring 89, together with its other halfring on the other side of the machine, is caused to raise at the proper time in the sequence of operation of the machine, to lift the post 83 and the arm 87 and thereby to open the upper and lower gates of the control chamber. The arm 81 is bent substantially at right angles between its ends, because the post 88 is centrally located behind the control chamber or toward the center of the'machine while the gate arm and stud 86 are outside the chamber and therefore offset laterally from the center line. The arm 81, therefore, extends laterally from post 88 to reach from the center line to the side and then outwardly to stand in the vertical path of movement of stud 86.

After the gates are thus opened they are latched open, and the post and its arm 81 descend out of the 'w'ayof stud-86 on the lower gate arm thereby to permit the closing of the latter by gravity and independently ofarm 81 at the proper time, which is when the bucket has become propber of the chamber 59 and having a counterweight 9| on its outer end to cause its opposite end to tend to rise. A notch or shoulder in the upper edge of saidlever is engaged by the knife-edge of the pivot stud when the gate is open. This sufiices to hold the lower gate open and the latter to hold the upper gate open through the link connection 82 after once being opened by the arm 81, until the knife-edge studon the lever 84 is freed from the weighted lever 90. This happens when the bucket receives the intended weight of the with the weighing buckets.

product and is thereby caused to descend by gravity. When this happens, a small rod 92 adjustably secured at its lower end to the upper rim of the bucket, and having a bent upper end extending laterally over the end of lever 90 and normally slightly above the same, is carried down with the bucket and pulls the lever down away from the pin on the arm 84, thereby freeing the gates and allowing them to drop and close substantially instantaneously under the influence of gravity.

In this manner the opening and closing of the control chamber gates, that is, of the'chutes leading from the centrifugal feeder disc to the weighing buckets, are controlled by or in timed relation Thus when the buckets are ready to receive the product and its own bottom gates closed, the control gates above are opened by arm 81. A slight recession of the arm then takes place, thereby lowering the arm 81 on post 88 below the stud 86, so that the latter can drop or swing down without engaging it when the gates are to be closed. Then, when the bucket has received the required weight of material and is thereby caused to move downwardly by gravity, as hereinafter explained, the control chamber gates are instantly closed to shut off the further-flow of the product into the bucket.

The next step in the bucket operation, the apparatus for accomplishing which will be explained later, is to open the lower end of the bucket to permit the contents to fall out into the hopper spout leading to the container to be filled. While the buckets are weighed individually, as above stated, they are all emptied simultaneously. And, as will appear, all buckets must be filled and weighed, in normal operation of the machine, before the time for discharging comes around in ,the cycle of operation.

These weighing buckets 68 (Figs. 10 and 20) are of thin sheet metal, preferably aluminum, cylindrical in form and with vertical reinforcing rails 93 on opposite sides for the reception of hinges and other parts.- The bottom of the bucket is formed of half inverted cones 94 individually hinged on opposite sides, so that when closed the bottom forms an inverted conical closure of-the bucket and when fully open the whole cross-section of the bucket is open. This facilitates emptying the buckets and filling the containers beneath.

These hinges may be as shown or of any desired construction, but the pintles thereof are each provided with a coiled spring at one end to provide a spring closure for the bottom halves,

and the crank arm 95, so to speak, on the inner ends of the pintles. The ends of these arms have laterally extending studs or pins adapted to be suitably engaged by a horizontal transverse bar or shoe 96 at the lower end of the control rod or post 88 before referred to (Figs. 20, 21), which at its upper end carries the arm 81 for engaging and opening the gates in the corresponding control chamber 59. This control rod 88, as heretofore mentioned, stands just in back of the weighing bucket, as may be noted in plan view in Fig. 11.

Consequently, the lowering of control rod 88 will cause its bar or shoe 96 to engage the pins on the bottom gate arms 95 of the bucket and thereby to open the bottom halves against the tension of the spring hinges. Also, if for any reason a bucket has not descended properly in weighing and therefore has not closed the gates of the control chamber, this downward movement of shoe 86 will force the bucket down and thus close the gates. When the post 88 is raised, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 20, the hinges are freed and close the bottoms by their springs.

Obviously, this bucket-opening bar 96 and post 88 should be raised sufiiciently so that the bottom of the bucket will be closed during the filling of the bucket and at the same time be low enough so that the arm 81 at the upper end will be out of the way of the pin 86 on the side bracket of gate 80 when it falls at the down weighing movement of the bucket. In fact, the cam in the base of the machine which imparts movement through intermediaries to the control rod 88 takes this into account, for in the cycle it first raises to a height" sufiicient to open the control chamber gates to open latching positions, then drops to a lower position where it is out of the way of pin 8% when the latter drops in the closing of the chamber gates. Then, after a while, when the buckets are all filled and weighed, the control rod drops still further down and sufliciently to open the bucket bottom, as described. There is then given time for the buckets to empty when the control rod 88 starts up again and keeps on going until the control chamber gates are open, the bucket bottom having closed by the spring hinges in the earlier upward movement of the rod 88.

The buckets 6B are supported for accurate weighing by suitable knife-edge hearings in the forked scale beam Q7 (Figs. l0, ll, 12, 18, 19), the bucket hanging between the forked members on the knife-edge pivots 98 (Figs. 18 and 19) engaged by suitable bearings 89 at the top of the bucket.

The scale beam itself is pivoted on similar bearings at i053 on a short horizontal bar lill (Fig. 4) fixed by bolts or other means to the under side of the main ring casting E3 and spaced therefrom suitably to accommodate therebetween the scale beam 8? on the pivots I ill).

On the inner end of the scale beam is suitably suspended the balancing weight I62 corresponding substantially to the weight imposed on the other end of the beam by the filled bucket. Any close adjustment is securedby'theadjustable weight M3 on the side of one of the forks of the beam (Figs. 18 and 19).

From the center of the scale supporting bar HH, and rigidly secured thereto, depends a squared bar I 3 3. Near its lower end it supports the pivoted links or members I projecting horizontally to reach to the opposite sides of the lower end of the bucket, where recesses in the lower edge of the ends thereof fit freely over pins on the sides of the bucket. These permit 16 the free vertical weighing movements and actions of the bucket while preventing swinging of the same.

From the rear of the lower end of the vertical bar [M a bent wire or light rod [06 extends to a point beneath the scale weight I92, and a loop in the end thereof serves as a general guide for a pin in the bottom of the weight and to prevent its swinging.

An adjustable set screw l9! (Fig. 10), under the inner end of the scale beam 91 supported by any suitable stirrup or bracket from ring 53 limits the downward movement of this end of the beam. The upward movement of this end of the scale beam may be adjustably limited in the same way by a set screw through the ring 53 above.

From the foregoing it is seen that the weighing buckets hang from the stationary ring casting 53 at the top of the posts 5| and 52 of the main framework of the machine and have only a limited vertical movement due to the weighing oi the product, and in their downward movement they unlatch the control chamber gates from their open positions thereby permitting the same to close at once by gravity.

It is also seen that the opening of the control chamber gates and the opening and closing of the bucket bottom gates are controlled by the lateral arms at top and bottom, respectively, of the vertical control post 88, which is just in back of the bucket. Since these parts are duplicated for each of the eight buckets, the description.

of one will, it is thought, suffice for all.

But all said control posts 8%, as before'st'ated, are fixedly secured to the split ring'or band 89 (Figs. '21, 10, ll, 12, 13, and 20), and are raised and lowered simultaneously in accordance with a cam in the base of the machine.

The ring is split to accommodate between the spaced ends of the halves the vertically reciprocating cross-head I38, which carries the row of eight vertical packing plungers i0 9 (Figs. 1 and 5) for packing the product in the containers, for such products as are deemed best to be so packed. This cross-head H38 is therefore longer than the diameter of the ring 8t, and accordingly the ring is split to permit the ends of the cross-head to extend between the ends of the ring halves.

This split ring is mounted for vertical movement on the lower ends of the four posts which carry the feeder housing ring 54 from and above the frame ring 53 at the top of the side frame posts 5| and 52. For this purpose (Figs. 21, 10, 11, and 12), each post is provided with a short metal bearing sleeve H9, slidable up and down on the post, having two arms or projections IH extending to the adjacent inside of the ring and secured thereto by bolts or in any desired manner. A coil spring H2 on each post below the bearing sleeve H8 resiliently balances the weight of the ring and attached parts and makes their vertical movements that much easier.

These half rings and their attached parts are designed to move upand down together on the four posts 55 as one ring, because the gates of all the control chambers open simultaneously and the bottoms of all the weighing buckets are opened simultaneously. Accordingly, the two halves of the ring are connected together for vertical movement the short horizontal shafts iii-l (Figs. 10, 11, 21, and 22), having thereon the intermeshing gear segments H4, and on the end of each shaft a lever arm 5 having at 11 the free end a roller or pin working between two horizontal flat lugs H6 (Fig. 21) on the bearing sleeve I I0, which is slidable up and down on the posts 55.

These shafts H3 are supported from the bottom of frame ring 53 by two bearing bars H7 extending across the ring as shown in plan in Fig. 11 with their ends firmly bolted to the under side of said ring. The bearings for these shafts II 3 are in the lower edges of the bars III, as indicated in Figs. and 22. Any oscillation of these shafts H3 will therefore move the two split rings up and down on the posts 55 equally and simultaneously. It will be noted also that this moving and equalizing mechanism for these split ring parts are at all times entirely above and out of the way of the plunger cross bar I08 and its associated parts.

In order to oscillate the shafts I I3 and thereby to move this split ring vertically, a lever arm H8 (Figs. 10, 11, and 22) is secured to one of the shafts H3 and a lateral pin or roller on the free end of arm H8 engages in a horizontal slot of a casting or block H9 adjustably secured as by a set screw to the vertical rod I20. This rod I20 is vertically reciprocated by a cam in the base of the machine. Its upper end is guided by a sleeve bearing I2I formed in and as an extension of casting ring 53 at the top of the side posts. It passes through an opening in the plunger cross bar slide bearing and its lower end is guided by a bearing I22 supported by a bracket on the inner side of post 5I (Figs. 2 and 7). It is then connected by cam yoke I23, with operating cam disc on the base of the machine, as hereinafter explained. Any vertical movement therefore given the vertical shaft I20 by the cam in the base of the machine is imparted to the split ring with its control posts 88 and the corresponding lateral arms at top and bottom at the posts.

The horizontal plunger cross-head I08, as seen in Figs. 1, 3, and 11, extends centrally through the machine beyond the vertical limits of the ring casting 53 and the split ring 89 at the top of the machine for substantially as far as the outer limits of the weighing buckets and nearly the length of the bed of the machine. It is made this long to accommodate the plungers below which enter the containers vertically in order properly to compress and pack the product therein and to reciprocate vertically through the vertical portions of the down spouts from the weighing buckets and then through the drop spouts, all making a comparatively long vertical stroke. The plungers must be withdrawn above the streams of the product in the down spouts when the product fiows into the containers, and also be able to reach down into the containers to compress the product. The plunger itself is preferably of cast iron with a fitted cast-iron cap in its lower end having an upwardly concaved face to engage the product.

Accordingly, the plungers I00 are connected by vertical rods I24 with the cross-head I08 above. This plunger cross-head may be of channel iron and the plunger rods I24 adjustably connected thereto by passing up through the laterally extending edge flanges of the channel and having a nut threaded thereon below the lower flange and another above the upper flange. Or as indicated, the cross bar may be a solid member with the rods passing edgewise therethrough and with nuts on the rods at the top and bottom of the bar, or in any other suitable manner. The cross bar is long enough to accommodate the eight vertical plungers and rods as shown.

This cross-head is mounted and supported for vertical reciprocation in a bearing member slidable up and down between the posts 5| and 52 of the frame. This member consists of two parts, a slide bearing I25 (Figs. 2, '7, 10, and 11) having in general a right-angular form, the vertical leg of which lies alongside the vertical post 52 and has two sliding bearing rings I26 and I2! surrounding the post 52.

The horizontal arm of said rightangu1ar member engages the adjacent cross-head I08. The other member I28 on the other side of the crosshead I08 has a half ring bearing against the opposite post 5I and slidable vertically thereon. The two members I25 and I28 are firmly bolted to the cross-head I08 and to each other, as shown, so that the cross-head is firmly clamped between the two slide members I25 and I28 which are an inverted V in cross section. Fig. 11 shows these parts in plan view; Fig.7 in vertical section with adjacent parts omitted; Fig. 10 is on a larger scale, but with adjacent parts also shown; and Fig. 2 shows the machine as a whole.

As shown in Fig. 7, a rod or central bar I28, rigidly socketed in the lower end of the vertical leg of the plunger slide bearing I25, extends downwardly alongside the post 52 and is connected at its lower end with the pitman rod I30, which is connected with a crank pin on the disc I3I in the base of the machine. By this means the plunger bearing slide I25, the plunger crosshead I00, and the plungers themselves arereciprocated up and down for the purposes described. If the material being filled does not require packing, the plungers may be disconnected or discarded or otherwise put out of commission. I

A counterbalance Weight for the plungers, bearing slides, etc., is provided for as follows: A sprocket bearing is located at the top of post 52. It has a cylindrical portion fitting into the upper end of the post, and a set screw or bolt may additionally secure the same in position. It has two upright side brackets between which the sprocket I32 is journaled, and a screw eye is inserted in the lower side opposite the post member. Sprocket I33 is attached to the upper side of the slide bearing I25. A sprocket chain I 34 attached at one end to the said screw eye in the sprocket bearing passes down under the sprocket I33 on the plunger slide bearing and thence up over sprocket I32 at the top of post 52. From thence the chain passes down the hollow post 52, where it is attached to the counterweight I35 within the post. In this way the weight of the slide bearing castings and associated parts is effectually counterbalanced.

Sheet-metal hopper spouts for the product lead from beneath the weighing buckets to the containers, or rather, to so-called drop spouts which intervene between the lower ends of the hopper spouts and the entrances to the containers. These hopper spouts (Figs. 1, 10, 23, and 24) have large circular tops I36 immediately beneath the weighing buckets 60 and into which the buckets discharge their contents. An inclined and tapering portion I 31 extends down from the upper end I30 to the vertical portion I38, which is just above the particular container to which the spout leads, and of a diameter about the same or a little less than the inside of the container.

It Will be noted that these hopper spouts are not all exactly alike, due to the fact that the upper ends are positioned in a circle and their lower ends are in a straight line over the container filling position. The lower ends of the four on the one side of the longitudinal center line of the machine alternate with the four lower ends of the opposite four spouts. However, they are the same as to the tops and bottoms and as to having an inclined tapering portion between. The particular form of the latter for any special position in the machine will be readily understood and is indicated in the drawing.

When in position in the machine, the upper ends I36 of the hopper spouts are all attached by bolts, screws, or in any other desired manner to a metal band or ring I39 surrounding all of them and which assists in keeping these spouts properly positioned.

These hopper spouts are supported in the machine at and from their lower ends. Thus a cast-iron supporting sleeve M closely fits around the lower end of the vertical end of each spout. They fit just below the juncture of the inclined portions of the spouts with the vertical portions so that the spouts cannot slip down further through the sleeves.

These sleeves I40 are attached to horizontal bars I4I on opposite sides of the row of sleeves. The adjacent sides of the sleeves are formed with grooves or depressions into which the said bars fit as shown. Bolts through the bars and into the sleeves firmly secure them all together into a unit in a straight line, with the sleeves properly spaced to bring the ends of the spouts into filling position over the containers.

These side bars MI are respectively secured to and supported from adjacent main frame posts I and 52 (Figs. 2, 5, '7, and 24) by castiron triangular brackets I42 extending laterally from the bars to the posts. These braces or brackets M2, as indicated, are firmly bolted. at their ends to the bars and at their junctures to the posts. Accordingly, the hopper spouts are firmly held in the desired position with their upper ends in a circle under the weighing buckets and their lower ends in a straight line over the container filling position.

The drop spouts I43 (Figs. 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, and 23) are cast-iron sleeves individually fitted on the lower ends of the vertical ends I33 of the hopper spouts and slidable thereon for a short vertical distance to extend the discharge spout actually into the upper ends of the containers to be filled when the containers arrive in position therefor. For this purpose the lower edge of the drop spout has a tapered ring portion I44 adapted to enter the open end of the container just enough to hold it from lateral displacement and in proper position for filling, and then to rise sufficiently above the tops of the containers to permit the same readily to be moved out of and into filling position.

These drop spouts I43 are all secured together like the supporting sleeves I by side bars I45 in side grooves in the drop spouts, all being bolted together as a unit and all being raised and lowered together by a couple of vertical rods I46 secured near their upper ends, as shown, to the adjacent side bar at I41. The upper ends of said rods I46 reciprocate through guide holes in lugs I48, cast or otherwise secured on the outside of the adjacent supportside bar MI of the sleeves I40 (Figs. 2 and 24).

The lower ends of said vertical rods I46 are secured to the ends of the horizontal member I49 of the cam yoke, which, together with a suitable cam on the cam shaft and the other parts in the base of the machine, serve to move the drop spouts up and down sufiiciently for their purpose. This cam yoke will be described more fully, but it may be mentioned now that, as seen in Figs. 2, 7, and 8 the part bearing the cam roller and the fork which straddles the cam shaft, is offset laterally from the horizontal part I49 joining the lower ends of rods I46.

The pack plungers I09 thus move up and down in the vertical part I38 of the down spouts. through the drop spouts I43 and into the upper part of the containers I50, the extent of the latter depending upon the material being packed and other conditions. The uppermost position of the plungers is above the flow of material through the inclined portion I31 of the hopper spout into the vertical portion, as indicated in Fig. 7 and other views of the drawings. Like= wise the plunger should moveinto and out of the container only when the drop spout is down and engaging the container. All this is taken care of by the cams, etc., in the base of the machine as will be described, later.

The containers I50 are brought into the machine and taken out again by the conveyor belt 540; heretofore mentioned. It is designed to stop when the containers are being filled so that the containers rest thereon during filling, and gradually start up again when the filling and packing have been completed, to carry the filled containers out of the machine without spilling the contents or damaging the containers. As seen in Fig. 1, the conveyor belt 54a passes over idler pulleys I5I at the very ends of the machine, the containers resting end-on-end and being carried side-by-side by the upper horizontal flight of this belt.

The lower flight of the conveyor belt is carried nearly around the driving belt wheel or pulley I6I, which is continuously power operated, and over a couple of idler pulleys I35 and I82 (Fig. 1), one of which is cam operated, to tighten or loosen the belt around the drive pulley and thereby permit the belt gradually to start and stop, whereby to prevent mishandling of the containers in the starting and stopping and the filling and packing periods. This mechanism in the base of the machine will be described later. The horizontal flight of the conveyor belt is supported on the flat web of an inverted channel beam I52, seen in perspective in Fig. 5, in section in Fig. 7, in dotted section in Figs. 2 and 9, and in side edge view in other figures. The end pulleys or rollers I5I are journaled in adjustable brackets secured to the ends of this belt channel I52. I

This channel I52 is raised above the surrounding table 50 of the machine by U-brackets I53 bolted to the end members of the table 50, the upper ends of the legs of the brackets I53 being bolted through spaced blocks to the edge flanges of channel I52. This gives room for the return flight of the belt above the bottom table 563 and for other parts therebetween.

Guide rails I54 for the sides of the containers are suitably supported near the tops and bottoms of the containers by vertical members riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the rails and to the edge flanges of the belt channel I52. The containers I59 readily and freely pass along this runway between the side rails I55; the runway and conveyor belt, etc., shown broken off at the left in Fig. 1, that is, at the intake end, may be as long as desired. In the particular machine depicted in the drawing, it preferably is long enough to accommodate eight empty containers to the left of the filling position for the containers.

The containers are moved into and out of filling position, being carried on the belt conveyor. The belt conveyor is started and stopped properly to bring eight empty containers into filling position and at the same time to carry out from the machine the eight filled and packed containers. The conveyor belt stops for the filling and packing period, during which time the containers remain at rest upon the belt. This is all carried out in timed relation by the mechanism in the bed of the machine, but since the containers depend merely upon their frictional contact with the belt for their propulsion through the machine, and yet must be accurately positioned for filling and packing through the drop spouts, etc., suitable control star wheels I55 are provided at the entrance and at the exit of the filling position. There are two of these star wheels at each end, one above the other, on a single shaft and vertically positioned to engage the sides'of the containers near the bottom and a little above the center. They, of course, are positioned at the side of the runway for the containers, and their peripheral recesses fit the curved sides of the containers, as seen in plan in Fig. 6.

There are eight of these container recesses in the periphery of each star wheel, so that one revolution of the star wheel will pass eight containers in the runway and on the conveyor belt. Furthermore, the mechanism is such (Fig. l) that these star wheels are stopped at each revolution, but they are freed when the belt starts up. In this way the containers are accurately positioned in the filling station.

A power driven roller I56 (Fig. 1) engages the tops of the containers as they emerge from the filling and packing position to insure that the containers emerge properly from the machine even though some sort of stopping or interruption may occur in the production line after they leave this machine. This roller is driven continuously by the inclined shaft I51 from the mechanism in the base of the machine, as hereinafter explained.

In taking up the mechanism in the base of the machine from which the propulsion in proper timing relation of the foregoing elements is achieved, it will be recalled that the centrifugal feeder disc in the top of the machine is continuously rotated at constant speed by the vertical shaft down the hollow frame post 5| and a belt driven directly from the driving electric motor 69; also that the inlet and outlet gates of the control chambers 59 and the bottom gates of the weighing buckets are controlled by the rise and fall of the split ring 89, which is raised and lowered at proper times by vertical rod I26 reciprocated by a cam in the base of the machine. Likewise, the packing plungers are continuously reciprocated in their long vertical stroke through the medium of their cross-head I08, which is carried by the bearing slide I25-I28, and which in turn is reciprocated by the'pitman rod I and crank disc I3I in the base of the machine. Then, too, the drop spouts for the containers are lifted up and down a little when required to do their work by the rods I46, which are cam operated in the base, and of course there is the belt conveyor which is intermittently operated to position the containers for filling and packing, and also the exit roller I56.

Referring to Fig. 4, which shows the parts somewhat in perspective and spread apart, the

- driving electric motor 69 is connected by a long belt with a pulley on shaft I58 at the other end of the table base. This shaft, through the small gear pinion on its opposite end, drives the larger gear I59 mounted on the driving shaft I60 which parallels shaft I58. When the motor 69 is running, therefore, shaft I58, gear I59, and shaft I60 are running also. The belt pulley I6I on this shaft is the driving pulley for the belt conveyor to carry the containers through the machine, and likewise is continuously running when the motor is turned on.

The small beveled gear at the other end of this shaft I69 drives the inclined shaft I51 which operates the exit roller I56 (Fig. l)

A clutch I62 (Figs. 4 and 9) connects the shaft I60 and gear I59 with a sleeve on the shaft I60, which carries at its opposite end a gear pinion 563 meshing with a large gear and crank disc I3! on the main cam shaft I64 of the machine (Figs. 4 and 7) The clutch I62, known as a dog clutch, is of that type having an inside dog or pin with a projecting lug I65, which, when engaged by the pawl or arm I 66 from the outside, frees the clutch from the shaft, but when the arm or pawl I 66 is lifted out and away from the lug, the clutch pin rotates and connects the clutch for rotation of the parts.

This pawl or arm I66 is mounted on shaft I61, which has a hand lever I68 on each end and at each side of the bed of the machine. By these hand levers, therefore, or either of them, the cam shaft and cams thereon can be started and stopped as desired. The construction and arrangement of these starting and stopping levers i678 and their associated parts are such that they will remain in either extreme position until manually moved therefrom.

There is one feature that may be explained here. The clutch 562 makes about six revolutions to one of the wheel ISI and of the cam shaft I64. The latter should be stopped only when, for example, the packing plungers are in the upper part of their stroke and out of the way of the other parts. But the clutch I62 could be stopped at any of its six revolutions instead of at the particular one corresponding to the upper position of the plungers, except for the feature now to be described. The hand lever shaft I6'I has an arm I69 connected by bent link I'Ifi with the lower arm of angle lever I'II journaled in a bearing on the top fiange of one of the two channel bars extending longitudinally of the bed of the table. The other arm of this angle lever I'II has a cam roller adapted under certain conditions to bear on the outer rim or periphery of cam disc I12 on the cam shaft I64. This rim has a depression H3 in its cam track into which the roller drops and permits arm I66 on hand lever shaft I61 to drop into position to strike the clutch lug I65 when it comes to it in its next rotation and thereby to throw out the clutch.

This occurs when the plungers are in the upper part of their stroke, but at other times if the hand lever has been moved to stop the machine, the cam roller or lever ITI rides on the other and raised part of the periphery of the cam disc I12 and prevents the arm or dog I66 on shaft IB'I from dropping into the path of the clutch lug. Also, when the hand lever is pulled entirely back to free the dog I56 from the clutch, as for instance at the beginning of the run of the machine for any extended time, the cam roller on arm "I 17 isiliited. entirely.,.free:;from .the. periphery .of'rcam I12 .at. all points; and themachine; therefore; con tinues to operate until the hand lev.en=has:been moved; and the; disc reaches: the :proper, position forstopping.

.Accordingly,:after the machinehas-heenstartedz'by; pullingvthe' handclever J68; in: an; outward directiomthe .cam shafti JMLandzthe cams thereoncontinueto rotate, ras'wellt ascshaflts 1 and l 60. and conveyor beltdrivepulley 6 l Reerring:..to.]Fig. 7; thegzcam recessorgroove in the face: oithe .campdisci atthe: lefthandofthe cam. shaft. 164'. operates; the; splitiring :in the-top of the machihethroughthe cam roller;;.l;2;3a= and cam yoke .123; and" vertical: rod: ll 20.; ThiSziS; the

same. cam; disc,. the .zperiphery: of which :has the safety stopzdepression I .13. for the'clutch "l 52-.

Figs. 16' and: lflrshow the two :faces of...-this cam disc; the-peripheral".depression; 113-; beingiishown atpithe top t hithec disc, and. the; split: .ringi-cam;

groove 1 J5 beingishowniinl'iigi-16.. The-cam yoke 12 3. (Figs '7 .has: a2 fork at; .:the. l-ower.;-end1- straddling-.ithecam shaft: .4554. iAproller. J23aengages the camcgroove. H5, andri-ts upperend'is; secured to.:the-lower .end: of .;.the rod; 12.0. ..By this-means the .camycke on camrod; Basiscaused to, move vertically in accordance".awithtsthe.xra'dialvyariations of the distance oirithe camz-grooveti rom-ithe center. ofithe disc.

:Thezdrop spouta areraisedaandl loweredzby cam I-lfion the camshaft al 64;. azgrooyerv 1| 711 (Fi 1,4) being formedzonroneiace thereotin whicha roller lflilaxrunsithatds securedlto lthe. sider.of..the offset cam yoke M8 rEig-rfl) Thiscamzyoketjhasaafork at its lower-i; end-astraddlingathe shafti JGA-aanda laterally. offset: portion above; the cam roller; extending to:;the..ihorizontal':bar H9 5 3(-Fig.;-. 8) to which ithe. vertical, rods 446 are secured. .aThe latter. areconnected to;-:the';drop spouts-,asdndicatedin Fig. .7.

-.The: reason. fo'ri; thelz-lateral; ofiset inz-the: cam yoke H8 is apparent from Fig. '7, thatzis toenahle it: .to; :free: adjacent. :parts above and; below and fitrinto the. mechanism.

:This cam; disc H 6; .:(Fig; ihason the; opposite:

faces: another; cam :track I J 9 :;whiclr; operates: the conveyor beltgtig'htingaand; loosening; pulley; .80 (Fig. 1). This pulley E80 is carried on anearm or bell. .crank. lever 181, :the: other; arm of which carriesza cam'rol'ler: engaging; the cam :track H9:

(Figs... 1,41,. 5,;91a1id; .15) -i-Thus,:.whenwtheecam roller engagesrthe-lhigh:point: of track :I :79 on-cam disc I16 the pivoted idler roller. fl 8.051s swung; over toztigmen thezconveyor belt-around the-conveyor drive: pf1i1ley l 6 l .i; and; thus 130:? start up: the-:loelt gradually, -.and when the::camroller. again: passes to thelowempartz.ofvthetrack; theheltrsradually comes tor a :stop: by the; 11D0Seningy0f the idler pulley. -?This;tof -.course,tocours but once; in the revolution ofthe cam shaft; and.- causes. the. belt to; shit t1 the empty; containers into :position-: and the. filled containers outcand' ZtQTIBIHfiiIIQQHifiSCEIlt with the; containers; resting: thereon, .durine the filling and packing.

2 'llhe conveyor belt r also passes over another. idler. pulley al 82, which may The starwheels vlt'll-are -mounted at theuppei ends' of: two verticaL- shafts 183 suitably journaled to:barsrsecured to the -.frameworkofthe machine, as indicated, at their lower ends. lateral) arm l8-3a on each-.- is: adapted to be .engagedbyaihook I 84 tostopthe rotationof the shafts -.and: *stara'wheels. This occurs. when. the containers are allrin theirfilling position. These hooks 184:. are simultaneously raised .tolfreefihe stanwheelsbydinkbar .l connecting them;. .Link bar; 1854s: connected at-each end-with an. arm

on the pivot? of. the-hook or -is-connected therewith, so v -thatim'ovement of the link inone directionwill raise the hooks to release the star-wheels and .-a:.imovement;. in the other direction closes therrnorerestores :themto the. path zof the. arms onthe.star wheel shafts. These hooksare-automatically raised in timedrelation with .-the other parts. Rod I86" (Figs; dzand 8) :has itsoneend securedto the .hook. .I r at the; adjacentend 10f the; machine. and. its; other end humped or up wardlyhowedyas. at l 81 r and standing inrthezpath of-.mov-ement Of. the crank, :pin; on; gear. I3,l or rather the lower-,endpf; pitman rod J30, which is journaled on. said pin. -.%Wh-e n, .in-the rotation of this'wheel I 3], the end of pitman rod l30;-s-trikes said-upwardly bowed. portion ofelever arm -I 86; the latter is .depressed and thGrhOOkSfiIG" raised .and the star wheels-are free forirotation. .I-he hooks are then lowered again under the influence :of tension: spring 114 to engagethe arms-g l 83a .on the 1 star Wheel; .shafitsto. stop the: same at. :the endpfia-complete revolution.

llhe lbedc-frame-eof the machine includestwo longitudinal chann-elironmembers secured therein, andithe various shafts. and other parts ;.mentioned are; suitably: secured thereto -.and '.-'to the frame asindicated in the; drawings. -A removable sheet metal cover I88, in two like parts,.1having top, .ends-.-.and- :a sidereach; covers and :encloses the mechanism on each sideofsthebottom channel:of.-the: conveyor; to protect :the -mechanismin the base from dust and-dirt. fromiaboyeaancrcontact. therewith.

In operation, the productto be fillecland packed is. fed-by=grayity .from hoppervorst0rage:. ,bin throughthe. (feeding; pipe.- 58 at the top, centerx-of the machine onto; the: centrifugal feederfdism 5]; Thisdisc is rapidly: and continuously rotated;.;has a smooth upper surface .whichis substantiallyflat except for thesconicalprojec-tion in the; contends horizontal; and the product is,therebytuniformly distributed towardsv its. periphery zwlthflllty 'the usual stirrers orsimilar devices .tendingto break;

up the fragile flakes of. the material.

- While the feedendisc-in the=particular machine shown, which is used: to weigh and-fill 3-110:v cone tainerswith rolled oats-a fragileifiake material ata' rate-of= containersiperminute, is about24 inches diameter; and operates; .at ;a ;-speeda of about 300.R=.Pz M.',.such factors-.may andzdovary.

with the amount and nature of the production called for, the kind ofzmaterial to-be handleld, and other conditions. For-example; *inzoithen weighins. andfilling *machines using suoh-feedemfiise.

.R. P. M. .In-thesemachines,-.too,.thezwconical' projection in the; center of the disc-i isss'harppointed as such products require practically: no

:The pointed zconical proj'ection agitation. deemed-advantageousiorproducts-requiring noag- 1 itation, whereas the flat topconical: connectionsls' 

